Transformers: Rediscovered - Book 1
by nikiallen0119
Summary: Griffin Rock has fully accepted the fact that aliens abide in their town, making newcomers from the mainland all the more difficult. When a young woman named Jennifer Morris arrives, Chief Burns is immediately suspicious of her actions, believing her knowledge of the town to be greater than she lets on.
1. Chapter 1: On the Land of Griffin Rock

**_This story takes place after Prime, Rescue Bots and Robots in Disguise. This series will be very different with my own little twists, so please keep an open mind. (Sorry for the short first chapter. xP)_**

Salty ocean air was a newfound sense in the beginning of the day, but feet planted on the dock was a refreshing change. Luggage in hand, Jennifer Morris promptly made her arrival onto the land of the island she never believed she would discover. Griffin Rock, the Island of Advanced Technology.

Having arrived at late noon, Jennifer was quick to hail a taxi and find her hotel. A five hour trip by ferry from the mainland was enough to exhaust her. Thankfully, coffee was the pick-me-up she desired, and after settling into her hotel, the coffee shop was where she was found.

"Double espresso, please." Jennifer told the tired young man behind the counter. She failed to understand his exhausted demeanor, being that he worked in a shop full of coffee, but who was she to make assumptions? All she could do was gladly take the beverage and be on with her day.

Departing from the coffee shop, Jennifer took a sip of her hot drink, the carmel sensation sliding down her throat. In grey converse that kept her warm from the chilly Spring breeze, she walked down the sidewalks, admiring all that was in sight. Floating cars, robot construction workers and even automatic window cleaners caught her attention. The town was small, but big enough to hold a decent population of two hundred. With an island so advanced in technology from most of the world, it was a wonder that Griffin Rock was hard to find.

She paused her walking for a moment and took a deep breath. She was here. Finally. Her job could start. All she had to do was–

"New here?" A voice sounded on her left, silencing all her current thoughts. Turning her head quickly, she met eyes with a much older man, perhaps old enough to be her own father. The police chief suit and badge was what caught her gaze the most.

"I am." She replied with a calm yet confident countenance. "Am I in any sort of trouble?"

He smiled a bit. "No, M'am. Just didn't recognize ya. We all know each other here in this small town, so it's very easy to spot a new face."

Jennifer picked up on his protective aura, for reasons she currently did not know of. Pushing that aside, she replied with a smile, "Well it's very nice to meet you! I'm Jennifer Morris."

"Chief Charles Burns. Police Chief of this town and sole protector of this island, with my family."

"A family integrated rescue team? Fascinating."

"Well, like I said, we are a small town. Are you... here on business? Visiting a family member?"

Jennifer was growing uncomfortable with his pressing questions. What was there to know, and why? "My... late fiance used to live here, and I remember all the wonderful and strange things he told me about this place. I had to come see for myself."

Chief Burns seemed to relax a bit. "When it comes to strange, he got that part right."

Jennifer laughed, although halfheartedly. Still, she was pleased that any suspicion seemed to be lessening some.

"How long have you been Chief here?" She asked, wanting a turn at the pressing questions, a cheeky gleam in her eyes.

"It's been about thirty years. A wonderful privilege, if you ask me. Having my family and state-of-the-art rescue tech has made the job all the more interesting."

"What sort of tech?"

Chief Burns' mustache twitched, and Jennifer had to force down a wide smile. He replied, "Our vehicles can safely do the jobs of what takes dozens of mere human men. We're proud to be the first island in the US to ever successfully test such machinery."

"You know... that's one of the exact reasons why I came here." Jennifer hesitantly added to the conversation. "The thing is, I heard about the test of transforming vehicles in Washington. My father is the Secretary of State there, and even though it was part of his everyday life, he never let me see it first hand. Maybe because it was so classified, but for years... I've always wanted to see... if it was myth or truth. My mind has always worked like that. Alive with questions that need answering." A silence fell between them as Jennifer looked around, finally spotting a police car parked by the curb. "Is that your vehicle?"

"Yep. Has served me for about a decade and still running strong."

"He looks like he would be heavy duty." She could feel Chief Burns' suspicious gaze at her comment, even while she still gazed at the car. Another moment of silence fell.

"If you're available tomorrow, would you enjoy coming to the firehouse for dinner? My family and I enjoy welcoming newcomers."

Jennifer looked back at him and put a smile on her face, knowing that he intended to fill the evening with more questions on who she was. She never intended to let her guard down so quickly. "I would be glad to!" She responded.

"We'll see you then." He nodded politely. "Have a good day, Miss Morris."

"Same to you, Chief." She followed him with her gaze as he made his way to the police car. Yes, she was letting her guard down, faster than she planned, but it was here, right within her reach. The insignia on the vehicle's license plate proved that.


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner with the Burns Family

Jennifer was never too particularly fond of dressing formally, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Of course, dinner was never usually considered a desperate measure, but a good impression definitely was one.

Finally deciding on a semi-formal burgundy dress, she headed out of her hotel room, the door requesting her thumbprint before it would lock. She wondered just how the housekeeping was done with that form of security.

"Thank you for staying at McMullen's Hotel!" A robot doorman said to her as she walked out the doors that permitted her entrance to the town. A golden glow from the approaching sunset radiated in the sky. Even with the oncoming darkness, the sidewalks and streets were just as busy as ever.

The Griffin Rock Firehouse was within five minutes of walking distance, so there was no need for a taxi. Jennifer wore flats for a reason. Five minutes would be nearly enough time for her to prepare her countenance and ability to answer questions as believably as she could. This night was her chance.

Arriving at the firehouse as her thoughts trailed here and there, Jennifer watched as a helicopter landed on the roof of the three story red brick building. Cocking her head to the side, she approached the front door, which looked very much like the entrance to a garage. Passing a statue of a griffin standing atop of the insignia that always caught her eye, there was no hiding the skip in her heartbeat.

Pushing her curled blonde hair to one side, she at last approached the door and knocked. Nothing. She tried again, hearing faint voices. At last, the door opened.

"Oh hi, you must be Miss Morris!" A boy greeted as he opened the garage doors. "Come on in! I'm Cody Burns, the chief's youngest son."

"Ah, so that's your role." Jennifer said in reply. Cody looked barely twenty or even out of high school. "Do you serve on the team?"

"Mostly in the command center. Once I complete my training in college, which starts next year, I'll be an emergency responder myself." He concluded his sentence with a smile as he led her to an elevator across the room.

"I'm sure you'll get there before you know it." Jennifer followed Cody into the elevator and they rode up, arriving at the second floor.

"Dad, she's here!" Cody called out as they entered the kitchen, finding two other people conversing in the room. One of them was Chief Burns.

"Welcome, Miss Morris." The chief said with a smile as he approached her, offering his hand and she shook it.

"Please, just call me Jennifer." She replied, ending the handshake as quickly as it started.

"Very well then." He paused to turn off the suddenly beeping stove. "So, I assume you met my youngest, Cody." He turned to a young woman standing beside him. "This is my daughter, Dani."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Dani greeted, nodding at Jennifer.

"Likewise." Jennifer replied. "Is Cody your only sibling?"

"I have two older brothers, Kade and Graham. They should be here any minute, actually."

"Aaaand we're here." A voice announced as two men made an entrance from the elevator. Jennifer saw them, one slightly unkempt and the other too tidy.

"Oh!" Dani exclaimed before running up to hug her brothers. "Welcome back, we missed you!" She pulled away and pointed to the woman behind her. "This is Jennifer Morris. She'll be joining us for dinner tonight."

"Welcome!" The tousled one spoke up. "I'm Graham. Just let me get washed up real quick and I'll join you guys in a little bit." He headed off towards the upper floor.

"Graham… can never clean himself in time." The other man mumbled before turning to Jennifer. "I'm Kade. You new to Griffin Rock?"

Jennifer nodded. "I'm staying here temporarily, a couple months at most, unless I end up staying. I'm currently undecided."

"This really is a wonderful place, it'll grow on you fast." Dani added.

"I'm sure it will. I've already seen so many interesting things." Her voice trailed off.

The smell of food filled the atmosphere. Smoked chicken and baked potatoes occupied the dining table.

"Alright, let's eat!" Chief Burns announced, offering a seat to Jennifer. Once everyone had been seated, the food was passed around. "So, tell us about yourself, Jennifer."

"There's not really that much to tell." At least not at the current moment. "To put it simply, I'm a young woman looking for a new angle in life. I moved from Olympia, Washington having heard of your transforming robots and other sorts of high tech here on this island."

"So you just decided to come because it sounded cool?" Graham inquired, having just joined the table.

"Yes, and if I like it here, I'll stay. I don't see why I need another reason more valid than that. I tend to follow my own curiosity. Of course my parents always told me that would get me in trouble when I was younger."

"Indeed it would." Chief Burns replied after swallowing some chicken. "But even still, curiosity must have something in it for you."

"It does, I assure you. It enables me to find that piece of my life I'm missing."

"What piece?" Cody asked, not even thinking about the possibility of prying.

"That's just the thing, I'm not really sure what the piece is. But I hope I find it. It'll be my mission for now."

"Noble! You know, I bet you would love seeing our rescue bots. They're downstairs in the garage." Chief Burns cast a look over at Cody that Jennifer couldn't decide was either one of surprise or disapproval. Maybe even both.

She nodded. "I would really like that! You know, my dad always worked with such high technology. It'll be somewhat nostalgic for me. Maybe I need that." So far, Cody was her ticket to success.

"Dad, these potatoes are amazing!" Kade complimented the chief while scarfing down his food.

Chief Burns smiled. "Thank you, son. I always loved using your mother's secret recipe." There was a change in the atmosphere at that sentence, giving Jennifer the reason to believe that Mrs. Burns was no longer alive.

Dani cleared her throat. "So, where are you staying for now?"

"I'm at McMullen's Hotel." Jennifer took a bite of chicken. "It's very nice, great room service, despite it being all robot run. Fascinating, if I might say."

"Gotta tell ya, the advanced technology is both a blessing and a curse." Kade added in, sipping at some lemonade.

"How so?"

"Most of our emergencies revolve around faulty tech." Graham explained. "Thankfully we can count on our bots to never fail us."

"But all technology has its faults."

"Well not them, they're practically–"

"Anything is possible." Chief Burns interrupted, his smile looking forced.

Jennifer's smile, however, was quite the opposite. "I couldn't have said it better myself."


	3. Chapter 3: Suspicions Rising

"So your three older children do rescue work on the mainland?" Jennifer asked as she stood in the bunker with Chief Burns and Cody, ready to take her leave for the night.

"In various places around the world." The chief replied. "They're diligent to come back every Sunday dinner."

Nodding, Jennifer looked to the rescue bots sitting idly beside her in vehicle mode. Her brows furrowed and she asked,

"Wasn't the helicopter bot on the roof?"

"We moved it down here for the night." Cody quickly responded as casually as he could. "Uh… it needs repairs."

"I see."

Jennifer walked up to the fire truck and placed her hand on its chassis. "Seems heavy duty. Could I see them transform?"

"Maybe some other time." Chief Burns replied blatantly. "But for now, they need a recharge."

Jennifer shrugged. "I'll be sticking around, so I'm sure I'll get my chance. Thank you for dinner, however. It was really enjoyable."

"Have a good night." Chief Burns concluded as she left the firehouse, beginning to walk back to the hotel.

The fire truck transformed, looking down at the chief and asking,

"Since when did you start inviting newcomers over for Sunday dinner?"

"Because Chief is nice to new people!" Blades, the helicopter replied after transforming, along with the others. "Right, Chief?"

"Because something didn't settle right with her, Heatwave." Chief Burns told the fire truck. "It's hard to explain but… I have my suspicions."

"Might I hear what these suspicions intail?" The police car, Chase asked.

"I could be reading into it… but it's as if she knows about you fellas. Whenever you were mentioned, something about her demeanor changed. I can't explain it."

"Are you sure, Dad?" Cody inquired while crossing his arms. "I mean, we only just met her. Maybe the high technology fascinates her and we're judging her wrong."

Chief Burns heaved a sigh. "You know all the extra precautions we've had to take since Griffin Rock learned and accepted the truth of the Cybertronians. It's still a mystery to me why the Mayor allowed mainland newcomers again."

"You always _did_ say to give others the benefit of the doubt." Boulder, the bulldozer spoke up, the emotion quite genuine on his faceplate.

Heatwave crossed his arms. "I agree with Chief. It wouldn't be the first time a human tried to pick at our secrets for their benefits–"

"Uhh, Heatwave?" Blades interrupted. "There's something on your back.

Frowning, Heatwave reached behind him and felt for whatever didn't belong. Plucking off a small, circular piece of metal, he examined it in his servos.

"What is it?" Boulder asked.

"Not sure." Came Heatwave's reply.

The bulldozer bot narrowed his optics as he peered over. "Looks to me like… a tracking device of some sort." He finally said.

Heatwave growled. "That lady must have put in on me when she patted my chassis…"

Chief Burns called through his coms, "Graham, get down here."

In a matter of minutes, Graham came heading down with Kade and Dani in tow.

"What's going on?" Graham asked.

"Heatwave has this weird device on him, and we think Jennifer left it." Cody explained.

Heatwave handed the device to Graham, who inspected it carefully, muttering some things to himself. It certainly wasn't from Griffin Rock. He immediately bolted to his personal lab space, beginning to run some tests on the device. The others followed him to see what he would discover.

"What can you see?" Dani asked, resting her hands on her hips.

Graham answered while looking through a microscope and beginning to pick the thing apart, "Well, this definitely is a tracking device. But don't worry, I just disabled it." He paused for a moment, letting silence linger. "Huh… it says H.Y.B.R.I.D. on the inside."

"Let me see." Chief Burns demanded, making his way to the microscope for a look. Sure enough, on the inside of the device was the imprinted name.

"What do you think it means?" Kade asked lowly, crossing his arms.

Pulling away from the microscope and sighing, Chief Burns replied, "I have absolutely no idea, son… but I'm sure Jennifer put that there, for reasons we do not know."

"We need to figure what H.Y.B.R.I.D. means." Heatwave spoke up. "It's definitely not from Cybertron, as far as I know."

"Well, a hybrid is a combination of two different things to make a whole new thing, but this imprint indicates the letters stand for something." Graham answered back, typing some notes on a nearby laptop.

Cody opened his mouth to speak when he felt a buzzing in his pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, he answered. "Hello?"

"**Cody, it's Frankie!" **Came the reply. "**You need to get here, quick!"**


	4. Chapter 4: Systems Hacked

"Doc! We came here as soon as Frankie called." Chief Burns spoke as he rushed into the lab with his family in tow. The rescue bots followed.

"Is everything alright?" Cody asked as Frankie ran into his inviting arms, clinging more than usual. She always did that when something was wrong.

"Someone's hacked the mainframe." She explained after pulling away, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We don't know how or why… but they stole some files. Important ones that we had stored about the bots!"

"Are you serious?!" Chief Burns exclaimed, his eyes burning with anger. "How many?"

"All of them!" Doc Green responded in defeat. "There's no proper explanation. I was notified of a cybersecurity breach and the next thing I knew, they were all gone."

"So first the tracker, now the stolen files." Grumbled Heatwave, beginning to look out of the nearby window towards the town. "And I have my suspicions."

"I think we all do." Kade snapped in reply. "Who else would it be?"

"You think you might know who it is?" Frankie asked with hope, her eyes lighting up a bit.

Chief nodded, "Her name is Jennifer Morris. We had her over for dinner just today, and I didn't fully trust her, for lack of a better way to say it. There was something about the way she talked and carried herself whenever the bots were mentioned, as if she was hiding her own knowledge of them."

"If she is a spy of any sort, she has already utterly failed." Chase muttered, only loud enough for his fellow rescue bots to hear.

"Also, we found something that might be associated with Jennifer." Graham added in as Anna Green entered the room, having just made sure Cece went to bed. "It's called H.Y.B.R.I.D. Would you happen to know of it?"

"The name rings a bell…" Anna muttered, all heads snapping over to her. "Just barely, but I… I remember hearing the mention of the name when I was working on scientific projects involving governmental supervision. That was years ago, however. I was very young."

"So, you're saying that H.Y.B.R.I.D. is related to the government?" Dani asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm not saying that." Anna was quick to correct. "I just don't know. I could even be remembering wrong. Like I said, it was years ago."

"Whatever the case, we are going over to McMullen's hotel and confronting Jennifer!" Chief Burns stated, his expression having hardened a bit more than usual, but it was always the same when facing crime. "I'm not waiting till morning. It's clear that she's lied to us already."

"I would advise you to get those files back as quickly as you can." Doc Green told everyone as the Burnses and the bots were taking their leave. "That Cybertronian information in the wrong hands would be a disaster!"

Cody flashed a thumbs up in his direction, giving one last smile to Frankie before following his family out the door and into the cool night air.

...

There was no denying that the quiet silence and being alone brought Jennifer a void in her emotions she could not shake. Her hair had been brushed smooth, she put on comfy clothes to relax for the night, but even as she sat in the edge of the bed, her thoughts trailed, leaving behind their melancholy residue.

She scrolled through her phone, staring at picture after picture. The one with her fiance, Patrick Devore, made her smile and glance down at the little diamond ring resting on her finger. It had been nearly a month since she had seen him last. Her heart tug at the thought of seeing him again, with his dashing sandy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, the way he towered over her from being six feet tall. He was dreadfully serious on most occasions, but charming in a way, and she liked that about him the most.

When she reached the final picture, however, every beat of her heart seemed to throb, and she remembered why she usually refrained from looking at any of her saved photos. Smiling back at her was Lyrica, her little step sister that she loved so dearly. The redhead was nearly fourteen with an IQ much too high for her small head. Jennifer loved her, not once thinking about the half set of genes they shared. If anyone asked, their hearts were the same, and that would always be the reply. It didn't matter if Jennifer was the result of a previous marriage, a second life and a second family she escaped from; any life with Lyrica made her feel complete. With two years having passed since the sisters had seen each other, it felt like an eternity.

The dim lights reflected her emotions and the drowsiness that caught up, her eyelids feeling weighted at last. Retiring her phone to the bedside table, Jennifer could not wait to curl up under the soft, red comforter of the small bed. She could put away her tiring thoughts, and that was the most rewarding.

With a bang, her door rattled loudly, making her jump and clutch at her beating heart. Someone was knocking and they desperately wanted in. She was afraid to look through the peephole, scared of who it might be, but upon seeing that it was Chief Burns, accompanied by Kade and Cody, she reluctantly opened the door.

"Miss Morris," the chief began before she could get a word out, "we're sorry to bother you so late, but we have a few important questions for you."

Nodding and hiding the tremble in every movement, she let them in. "Is there something wrong?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"Yes, actually." Chief Burns replied with a sigh. "Some mainframe files were stolen from the Griffin Rock lab, just soon after you left. Now I wouldn't have my suspicions if you didn't leave a tracking device on one of our robots, which was clearly not there before you came here."

"Yeah, and we checked our security cameras." Kade continued. "So you better step up and admit it was you."

Swallowing hard, Jennifer said, "Alright, it was me, are you happy now? I left the tracker, but I have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to stolen files."

"What is H.Y.B.R.I.D.?" Cody demanded, the question gnawing his mind.

"I don't think we have a long time to explain, now do we?" Jennifer replied with a sarcastic tone that made its reveal.

"I think we do." Chief retorted with narrowed eyes, immediately speaking through the coms, "Get ready to take her into custody."

Jennifer's eyes went wide as her voice noticeably raised. "Whoa, you're arresting me?!"

"You are the main suspect for this case, and you will stay in a cell until we get answers from you."

"I would never steal, I'm not a criminal!"

Chef motioned for her to be led out. "We'll see."


	5. Chapter 5: Jennifer's Interrogation

The cell was cold, glass walls keeping her in. It was too small for her claustrophobia to ignore. Jennifer scowled. Over two hours had already passed. This was far from the outcome she had expected.

"Why am I here?" She asked out loud, glaring at the chief who sat in front of her outside the cell. He frowned at her condescending tone.

"You tell me." He responded, leaning forward in his chair.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you other than I _didn't_ steal the files!"

"Then why did you leave the tracker?" His eyes narrowed. "You're making yourself look awfully suspicious."

"You could have at least let me out of these cuffs…"

"I don't trust you, yet." A cold silence was held between them, an unheard battle of headstrong personalities beginning to reveal.

"You gonna talk?" Chief Burns coaxed. "Or are we just gonna sit here all night?"

Jennifer tightened her jaw. It felt wrong to speak. She had made a promise. Would some old man make her break it now? Her mind became a whirlwind, eyes glaring down at her cuffed wrists. With chest and lungs tightening, the room became smaller, her breaths unevening.

"I… I can't–"

"You tell us or we'll make you!" Kade shouted from beside the cell, banging on the glass and revealing to Jennifer that he had been standing there in the shadows. Her eyes went wide, trying to hide her fear.

Chief Burns held his hand up, commanding with his eyes for Kade to calm down. Yelling was the wrong approach.

Now, Jennifer's conscience was screaming. She knew every answer, even though she was not the cause. But her vow had been given. No words would be spoken about what she knew. Tears stung in the back of her eyes. Her hands trembled in her lap.

"L-Listen…" she began, her voice nearly breaking, "I-I cannot tell you what's going on. That would jeopardize my mission and I might be terminated."

"Can you at least tell us _something_?" Chief Burns' voice filled with intensity. He knew something was wrong, even if she was lying.

"At least tell us what H.Y.B.R.I.D. is!" Kade commanded, just barely lowering his voice from before.

"Th-That's where I work." Jennifer explained, her walls penetrating. She cursed herself for it. "I don't understand why they sent me on this mission to come here! I am far from experienced in the field." Her breath hitched and she stopped herself from voicing the rest of her thoughts.

Both the chief and Kade threw a glance at each other. The room even seemed to grow colder by the minute.

Chief Burns' voice became a whisper. "What. is. H.Y.B.R.I.D.?"

Jennifer couldn't tell. She refused to tell. "I…" she bit her lower lip. "I know about your vehicles." The demeanor in the room changed with those words. "I know that they're aliens, that in their veins runs a rare and seemingly unimportant mineral called Energon. The minute I saw your police car and the symbol on his license plate, I knew he was a Cybertronian. And even though I had never seen one before, I knew they were real." Jennifer's throat tightened and her eyes glossed over. "I don't know how much more I can say before you believe me. I never stole those files. I didn't even know they existed. Yes, I placed the tracker. I regret doing it. But I was fascinated. I wanted to see if they would really transform! If they were really alive! That's all…" her voice went quiet. "Just please… don't... hurt me."

Chief Burns frowned deeply at her last words, surprised by this unexpected ramble. It was clear that Jennifer was upset, but he was not sure why.

He sighed, trying to continue as relaxed as possible, "The files that were stolen could end up being in the wrong hands. They're very important to us. I… am sorry to inform you that your words aren't evidence enough, although you are innocent until proven guilty." Jennifer looked at him with hope, but he held up a finger, "However, you still remain a suspect. Therefore, we cannot let you go. But if you help us locate those files and get them back, you will be free with all charges dropped."

Her eyes went wide. "Do you promise that?"

"I do. And with that being said, you will be under our watch at all times. Even the bots'."

"Dad…" Kade started with a frown. "Are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "As long as she knows, there's no use keeping the secret anymore. They may even be able to help her."

They released Jennifer from the cell, uncuffing her wrists and bringing her outside. Her heart pounded, voice growing silent. For once, she refused to talk back and try to voice her way out of a situation. She simply let the chief put her in the back of the police car and drive her back to the firehouse.

"Team?" Chief Burns called over the coms. "Jennifer knows about the bots… no more secrets."

"But Chief," Chase began to speak, Jennifer freezing in shock at the sound of his voice, "oh…" he seemed to realize that he had already revealed himself, even if he wanted to still hide the truth. "I suppose we cannot keep anymore secrets."

"How did she know?" Dani called back. "Did she explain everything?"

"No…" the chief sighed defeatedly. "But she's willing to help us get those files back."

The firehouse soon came into view, but all was a blur. Jennifer had thought deeply and silently during the entire ride. One word had swirled in her head, ringing in her ears.

_Free_.

The chief said she could be free if she helped. He would never know what that word meant to her. To help them could mean freedom from H.Y.B.R.I.D. The Burns family could keep her safe from betraying the group of heartless leaders and followers. Even if she had never meant any real harm, her heart ached to be redeemed. But maybe it was too late in the night for her to think straight. Maybe her mind had been played with again.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Heatwave shouted, making Jennifer's head snap up. It was then that she realized they were already in the bunker of the firehouse.

"Calm down." Boulder tried to sooth, transforming into bot mode. "The Chief said she would help us. There's no need to get worked up."

"No, there _is_ a need! We can't trust her. Just because she knows who we are does not mean that she can lead us on some blind mission!"

"You'd be even more blind without me." Jennifer spoke up, finding her tongue again.

Heatwave growled, "Listen, blondie, I don't take orders from you. So unless you have a good reason for being here, you can polish my–"

"I can tell you about H.Y.B.R.I.D." The room grew silent and she smiled faintly. "I know I refused to talk earlier… but that's only because simply mentioning their name is a danger. They're reckless, they're ruthless, they're _dangerous_. And the worst part? They infiltrate the veins that make up this very world."

"What are you talking about?" Chief Burns asked, crossing his arms.

"Listen to me. H.Y.B.R.I.D. is a scientific research team assembled by our very government to research what is not on this world. My father worked there. I grew up on the team. He, and many others, believed there was life beyond Earth! He took evidence from decades before our time, he sent a group into space to turn his theory into a reality." She paused for a moment. "I don't know if H.Y.B.R.I.D. stole your files. If they did, I wouldn't know how. But they are our best bet. In this day and age, they've become so power hungry, wanting the technology of Cybertronians for themselves. It's inhumane, and I want out. That's what I've decided."

The room stood silent, all eyes and optics staring at her. Her words seemed to hold some truth, but it was hard to tell if she was lying.

"Where do we even begin?" Graham spoke up. "How do we even know we can trust you and that you won't lead us on a bunch of bunny trails?"

"Because even though Griffin Rock has been a myth to the rest of the world, H.Y. B.R.I.D. knows it isn't. They know its secrets even better than your own citizens do. Its location just had to be rediscovered after an unexpected archive crash."

"What does our island have to do with anything?" Cody asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Jennifer smirked. "Take us to the _Best Left Forgotten_ storage in the tunnels and we'll go from there."


	6. Chapter 6: Hidden Artifacts

The mildew stench of the tunnels made Jennifer grimace, but its cool temperatures were refreshing, to say the least. Cody had informed her that the BLF tunnel would be a ten minute walk from the firehouse bunker, so she assumed they would be arriving any moment. It had endured long enough. From Chief's pressing questions on what they would find at their destination to Blades screaming because of a spider, she was ready to move on from step one and complete her task.

"This should be it." Cody announced as the tunnels narrowed to one small entrance.

"Okay…" Jennifer paused to collect her thoughts. "Where do you keep the computer chips and hard dives?"

"This is pointless." Heatwave grumbled, mostly to himself, but Jennifer snapped her head around and glared at him.

"And you better keep your big metal mouth shut, or you won't have it for very long!" Her voice stated sternly, making Heatwave glower, scoffing at her petty threats.

"Over here, Jennifer." Graham called out as he had already begun to fulfill her request. "This shelf is full of pointless chips, hard drives and motherboards. I'm not even sure why they would keep these."

"That was their idea." Jennifer began scanning the shelf for the right box as if knowing precisely what she was looking for. "No one would look through them if they were pointless." She pulled a box off of the shelf, eyes lighting up with delight as there sat a small file drive. "This is it." She picked it up, smirking. "We can head back to the firehouse. _This_ is what we came for."

...

"You can plug it here into my laptop." Graham told Jennifer once they had made it back to the bunker.

"What's on the file drive?" Cody asked, peering over Jennifer's shoulder as she plugged it in and began typing a few commands.

"If my facts are straight, we should be making history." Jennifer muttered, concentrating. "My father talked for years about coming to Griffin Rock and finding this file drive that has been stored away for decades, made by previous scientific groups that branched off of governmental research. The reason he never got it was because he needed both parts of the puzzle. This was just one, and he spent all his time working to get the other: Cybertronians."

"What do the bots have to do with this?" Chief Burns asked quickly, a bit of urgency lacing his tone.

"I just told you. They're part of the puzzle."

The entire room grew silent. Only the sound of Jennifer's typing could be heard. Tension and confusion grew in the room with the lasting silence, but when Jennifer's eyes grew wide with wonder, she could feel the Burnses crowding around.

"What is it?" Dani asked, trying to understand the complexity of the file.

"Something that has to do with DNA… combining with the bots' CNA." Graham spoke, squinting his eyes. "Wait, that doesn't make sense…"

Jennifer mumbled, "It's a long story, I can tell you that."

"Then start telling it!" Kade snapped, growing impatient as he had been up most of the night, not unlike everyone else.

Twisting her engagement ring, Jennifer turned to face the small crowd. Her mind suddenly felt ambiguous as to how to tell the story. There were times where it was hard to collect her thoughts when she dug deep. All she could do was begin and hope for the best, "My father has worked with H.Y.B.R.I.D. for many years to study the biology of Cybertronians. From samples he managed to collect from space, the team was quick to begin the deconstruction of what they had. They wanted to know what made Cybertronians… _tick_. It all went down to the CNA. But that's when it all changed! They found the makeup of our human DNA entwined within theirs."

"Impossible!" Chase denied. "Whatever genetic makeup they found was ours and none other."

"But it wasn't! All of our human DNA was there, just turned off. We didn't know what it meant. None of us ever could. But this… this brings us one step closer. And it'll help us get those files back!"

"I'm still confused…" Blades mumbled, his servos fidgeting.

"This file drive is the way to turn on the DNA again. It's not simply a computer plug-in device. It contains bioelectric energy that, when in stasis, it tells your body to turn on the DNA, giving you the ability to transform into humans. It's inside of you!"

The room grew silent again. It was a stunned silence as all eyes went wide.

"This is all just a theory." Chief Burns' voice grew low. "What is the purpose of even attempting to make them human?"

"It's the only way of getting your files back!" Jennifer emphasized, her voice growing tired. "We'll have to break into one of H.Y.B.R.I.D.'s main headquarters to get them. Those are heavily guarded and their computers are sealed with passcodes in Cybertronian language that I, unfortunately, cannot translate. If one of you bots are willing to become human, you can go in, hack the main computer and get the files. Plus, the strength of bot form will not change in your human form. In theory."

Boulder frowned. "This seems a bit far fetched. Even for my knowledge."

"I agree with Boulder." Graham added. "Even if it were possible, there would no doubt be risk of complications during the procedure. None of them would be willing to do that."

"We'll have to think of another way." Chief Burns added with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry, Jennifer, but we won't be conducting any experiments. No more of your shenanigans." He looked over his shoulder. "Boulder, take the file drive."

"But–" Jennifer protested, eyes full of sincerity. She really had meant what she said, never wanting it to be harmful.

"No! We're finding another way and that's my final word. Cody, set up the spare bedroom. Miss Morris will be staying with us, and we might as well get some sleep while there's still a few hours left of the night."

Jennifer rushed to snatch the file drive before Boulder reached the laptop, but it was caught up in his servos one moment too soon. She bit her lower lip to mask the building frustration. It was too late for this.

"Just… show me to my room." She muttered, voice quiet from discontent. Cody led her away, both their footsteps slow, giving her time to look back at the bots, watching them huddle around the file drive, discussing it in voices that could not reach her ears.


	7. Chapter 7: Recode

Boulder played with the file drive, twirling it through his servos. The others watched, wondering if he could see right through its outer shell.

"Fascinating…" he muttered. "Are humans this advanced? To have genetic recoding in something so small?"

Heatwave rolled his optics. "Not likely. It's probably just a decoy."

"Or a tracking device of some sort." Chase added. "My trust in that woman has faltered from the beginning."

"But what if it _is_ real?" Blades' voice quivered as he said this. "What if Jennifer plans to use it to turn us all into humans?! She works for creepy scientist people!"

"Will you quit it?" Heatwave snapped, snatching the file drive from Boulder. With a low growl, he stomped across the bunker to the other side. It was too late for such a feud and he had dealt with enough shenanigans for one day.

"We're only curious." Boulder spoke up, staring at Heatwave, whose back was turned to him. "I know it's been a long day, but maybe tech like this could prove to be useful. Before Jennifer comes back, we should take this opportunity to study it."

Heatwave stayed silent. It was his way of disagreeing without letting foul phrases escape. What good would this tech be anyway? They did just fine as rescuers around the people of Griffin Rock. They had no need to blend in. And what use would it be on this new mission? He didn't trust Jennifer's words. There had to be another way of sneaking into the H.Y.B.R.I.D. base just as Chief said.

"You could try dissecting it." Chase spoke up, grabbing Heatwave's attention and distracting him from his thoughts.

"No…" Boulder mumbled, "it looked too fragile. We don't want to ruin it. Unless Heatwave's already crushed it…"

Heatwave opened his servo, looking down at the unharmed drive. He hadn't squeezed hard enough.

"Good! I don't want to even _look_ at that thing!" Blades shrieked, shielding himself behind his arms.

"It can't hurt you." Boulder soothed, masking annoyance, if he could feel any. "But I still have so many questions." He turned his head. "Heatwave, can I have that back, please?"

"Why?" The fire truck grumbled.

"Because I would like to look at it for a study."

"Then come take it from me."

Boulder sighed, "I don't want to fight, just give it back." He approached Heatwave, who snickered and held his servos away.

"Are you gonna make me do it?"

"Heatwave, this isn't a game!"

"Isn't it? I'm kinda enjoying myself."

"Well it's not. This is serious equipment that is filled with answers we may need."

Heatwave scoffed. "What answers? It's just a piece of metal and plastic. Do you expect to find–"

He froze once he teasingly held the drive out in front of him, optics catching sight of its backside. Everyone noticed the change.

"Heatwave?" Blades was the first to break the silence. "What's wrong?"

"R-217…" Heatwave whispered, reading the small, golden symbols imprinted on the drive that was hidden under a layer of paint. He had unintentionally scratched it off in attempts to keep it from Boulder. But they were symbols he had nearly forgotten about, and even uttering their existence brought on an instinct he would forever possess. "That was my code on Sigma 17." The code every commander would utter when he was instructed to report, to obey. The code embedded so deeply within him that just the sight of those symbols made him hear a new command, made him feel that there was something he must obey. The drive was made for him. It was _his_ command.

"Your code?" Chase replied, baffled. "On Earth technology?!"

"I… yeah, it doesn't make sense." Heatwave answered, his demeanor entirely renewed. "But that is my code. And it isn't a coincidence. This… this is telling me something. I have to do it."

Boulder frowned, concerned at this change. He knew the hold Heatwave's code had on him. It was the reason they tried to make him forget it before coming to Earth. "You have to do what?"

"I have to be the test. Make me human with this."

"What?! No! You were fully against this a minute ago."

"But you were right, this might be beneficial! You could study me, answer the questions even Jennifer couldn't. And I can go get the files back from H.Y.B.R.I.D. before they fall into the wrong hands."

Blades spoke up, "Heatwave, don't do it. We won't let you. Chief said there was another way so we'll find it."

"Do it, or I'll do it myself!" His voice grew loud and all went silent again. Even at three against one, Heatwave would always win. He would become a beast if he wanted to.

Against all better judgement, Boulder mumbled, "Fine." He motioned for Heatwave to hand over the drive. "It looks like it'll connect to the controls for a stasis pod."

An uncontrolled sigh escaped. If anything happened, he would take the blame. The thought of such guilt made him decide if he should put up with a beating from Heatwave.

They went into their wing, back in a hidden room behind the dust-collecting bookshelf. Fluorescent blue and green lights lit up the space, illuminating their storage units, Boulder's experiments, and their ship that had carried them to the Milky Way: _The Sigma_. A fitting name. Behind what could be seen from the entrance sat the medical wing. It was barely used, but came in handy when needed. Four stasis pods sat comfortably in the corner, and with shaky servos, Boulder connected the pod cables to its rightful controls. The file drive became part of the mix.

"Heatwave…" Boulder looked at the drive in his servos. He looked at the space where it was to be plugged in. "Please think about this. It's late. You're exhausted from your never- ending missions and this new one. Can we reconsider in the morning?"

"Do I have to tell you again?!" Heatwave snapped. "I have to do this. I can't rest when I am the step to completing this new mission. If H.Y.B.R.I.D. uses our tech to harm humans, then I have to stop them from discovering it in our files. Saving lives is priority one. It always has been and always will be."

Boulder and Heatwave held a hard stare. The bulldozer could see the desperation and determination in his leader's optics. It was like nothing he had seen before, and he knew the compelling force of the code was to blame. But there was nothing he could do. He had to comply.

"Should I go… get Chief?" Blades mumbled, watching as Heatwave entered the stasis pod. Chase waved Blades away in agreement while Boulder connected the drive to the controls and powered it on. There was no turning back.

Heatwave's optics were the first to go dark. He could see, but they were all shadows, and he lost his sense of touch and fabrication of the world around him. All he could hear was the code. R-217. It was his. That made this mission his. Every commander had drilled that code in his head for this very moment. To save lives. To protect Earth now that his home was lost and could never come back.

A scream erupted from his mouth and he slammed his servos on the glass of the pod. He could tell Boulder was trying to frantically shut it off. And he did, but it wouldn't open. Nothing stopped, the file became its source of power. No one could stop it. There was no turning back.

It felt like the two sides of Heatwave were battling with each other. The one side cheering on the process, welcoming it, while the other begged for it to stop and wished to go back. The pain was excruciating. Like lava flowing through his veins instead of energon. It felt as if someone was splitting him in half, ripping him from the inside out. He screamed again, no longer able to bang his fists onto the glass. Unable to hear Chase and Boulder calling his name and working to pry the pod open. Heatwave let out one final scream before all went dark...


End file.
